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No Gym? No Problem

If you want to get fit and lose weight, most people will tell you to head straight to the gym. Although the gym is undoubtedly a great place to be if you want to get healthy, it isn’t strictly necessary – there are lots of simple and effective forms of cardio exercise you can do in the comfort of your own home, which will enable you to get fit and save money.

Here are some of the best home fitness ideas for when you can’t get to the gym:

If you have a device that enables you to play music, you can work on your cardio from the comfort of your own home. Put together a playlist of your favorite up-tempo tunes – the ones that make you want to dance – and get moving. Ideally, you should aim to dance for at least 30 minutes, because this is the sweet spot for weight loss and cardiovascular health, but feel free to dance the night away if you have nothing else to do.

HIIT (see these HIIT workouts) is one of the most economical ways to improve your cardio fitness and shed any excess weight. Basically, an HIIT workout is one where you alternate between periods of high and low intensity for between 10-20 minutes. You can do this at home using an exercise bike, rowing machine, or with anything else that gives you a good cardio workout.Kettlebells

If you want to lose weight, exercise your muscles and tone up, you need a kettlebell. The beauty of kettlebell workouts is that they can be done in a very small space, and the only equipment you need is at least one, very compact kettlebell. Just doing 20 minutes of kettlebell swings three times a` week could help you to burn around 1200 calories and trim down your whole body, which is why it is such a popular exercise at the moment.

Don’t have time to go to a spinning class? Don’t worry. Either invest in an exercise bike, or if you already have a road bike, a turbo trainer (see this Elite Drivo review by Vikao) which will enable you to turn it into a stationary cycle, and you’ll be able to spin at home, whenever you have the time.

Take the Stairs

We all have stairs, whether their the stairs to our apartment or the stairs that lead to the second story, which is why one of the easiest ways to get in a workout when you’re at home is to head to the stairs. Spend 30 minutes running up and down the stairs (be careful) or doing your own step aerobics workout at the bottom of the flight, to burn a couple of hundred calories and really feel the burn.Jumping Rope

You might think that you left your jump rope days are behind you when you left elementary school, but jumping rope actually, provides a really tough cardio workout. Think about it; you have to propel your whole weight into the air over and over again – that isn’t easy. So, if you’re still agile enough, do 15 minutes of skipping, combined with the principles of HIIT to feel the burn.How do you squeeze your weekly cardio into your routine?